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0.0% <br />5.0% <br />10.0% <br />15.0% <br />20.0% <br />Retail Sales YOY % Change <br />Y <br />O <br />Y <br /> <br />( <br />% <br />) <br /> <br />C <br />h <br />a <br />n <br />g <br />e <br />Retail sales presented a firmer picture of consumer spending in June, rising 0.2%on the month and 6.7% year over year, while May’s gain <br />was revised up to 1.0%. The control group, which feeds directly into GDP, increased a solid 0.5%, suggesting demand remains more <br />resilient than sentiment alone would indicate. Consumer confidence improved modestly, with the Conference Board’s index edging up 0.6 <br />points to 91.2 in June. However, the headline gain obscures continued weakness in labor market perceptions,as the share of respondents <br />reporting jobs as “hard to get”climbed to a five-and-a-half-year high. Overall, spending has remained notably more resilient than <br />sentiment in recent months. <br />0 <br />20 <br />40 <br />60 <br />80 <br />100 <br />120 <br />140 <br />160 <br />In <br />d <br />e <br />x <br /> <br />L <br />e <br />v <br />e <br />l <br />Consumer Confidence <br />Recession <br />Source: US Department of Commerce Source: The Conference Board <br />All time high is 144.70 (1/31/00); All time low is 25.30 (2/28/09) <br />CONSUMER <br />8 <br />Page 178 of 373